606 GENEHAL FARM PROGRAM 



needs to meet an emergency. I am j ust wondering how far you would 

 be willing to go on that, or how far you would say we should go. 



Mr. Davis. It seems to me that we could, over a rather short period, 

 make a great deal of progress in that direction if we geared together 

 all efforts toward a common objective, using such a program as edu- 

 cation through extension, and vocational agriculture, and soil con- 

 servation, price-support program, and farm credit. If all of these 

 Avere geared in the same sound direction, they could bring about desired 

 adjustments voluntarily, and I think 



Mr. PoAGE. Unless it can be shown that it is a profitable program, 

 when you talk about bringing it about voluntarily, I doubt- 



Mr. Davis (continuing). I think that with price support you can 

 provide certain incentives for the time being, but I think there are 

 ways that it could be brought about voluntarily. I think it has been 

 demonstrated for tobacco and cotton, probably, and some of the other 

 commodities, which have a program like this, but I believe that in 

 addition you can accomplish a lot through a voluntary method if you 

 point the incentives in the right direction. 



Mr. Pace. Mr. Granger. 



Mr. Granger. In your statement, Mr. Davis, you express the fear 

 that the county committees in some districts might move in directions 

 that you think dangerous. What did you have in mind as an action 

 of a county committee that leads you to make a statement like that? 



Mr. Davis. Well, going back several years, we had quite a tussle 

 with the Department of Agriculture for a period of 2 or 3 years with 

 respect to the way in which fertilizer was to be distributed at the 

 county level in areas where farmers had their own purchasing asso- 

 ciations handling fertilizer. The Department wanted to handle it 

 through county committees. However, that was finally reconciled, so 

 fertilizer was handled through the voluntary channels. That is one 

 example. 



Also a similar question arose with respect to the feed-wheat pro- 

 gram as to whether it was to be handled through private or Govern- 

 ment channels. At that time I was working for the Commodity Credit 

 Corporation. We were swamped at that time with letters protesting, 

 and I always felt there was considerable justification on the part of 

 farmers who objected, because of the fact they had their own elevators, 

 and their own facilities for handling feed-wheat. 



Now where you have the machinery already in existence for handling 

 an item, particularly where it is farmer owned, it is to the advantage 

 of everybody to have that facility used. 



Mr. Granger. And you felt that they were getting into a territory 

 where they did not belong, and you did not agree with that ? 



Mr. Daa^s. That is right. 



Mr. Sutton. I would like to ask you a question if I may? 



Mr. Daa^s. Yes. 



Mr. Sutton, lou have been a farmer, you have worked with the 

 Farm Credit Administration and these otlier agencies; you realize 

 the desire that surpluses of agricultural commodities continue to exist ; 

 you know the farm program as it exists today: and you know as much 

 as anyone about the work of the Commodity Credit, and do you think 

 that whatever the price support is that it is going to be price for 

 agricultural products in the next few years ? 



